It has been an amazing last 18 days as the world cup have
been on a roller coaster ride. Some stories have gone according to expected
script but some have taken surprisingly unexpected turns like a well written
thriller. Thousands of fans, in packed up galleries and around the world, witnessed
these warriors battle it out to bring pride to their country at the mightiest
event till every last bit of their stamina and willpower. On Saturday at the
Khalifa international stadium Netherland initiated the round of 16 as they took
on USA.
The match started and it seemed to be an even competition but just in
the 10th minute, Memphis Depay converted a beautiful cross to an
even more beautiful goal to make it his 43rd for Netherlands.
USA
tried to keep calm and pull it back but in the 46th minute (extra
time), Daley blind converted an impressive setup into a goal and the Dutch were
already having the Quarter Finals in sight. Though the American’s put one in at
the 76th minute by Haji Wright, they were still not able to make any
impact and as a result Denzel Dumfries scored another one in the 81st
minute and put the Dutch in pretty much control of the game and with the final
whistle the American dream died and the Dutch were ready for their next
challenge Argentina who locked horns with Australia on the same evening at the
Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
Argentina were equipped to frighten anyone and Australia
fearful of no one.
It was the just the 35th minute when Lionel Messi
scored what seemed to have been a perfect geometrically calculated goal and the
stadium erupted in the roars of Argentinean fans.
The match continued but in
the 57th minute, Julian Alvarez stole the ball from the goalkeeper
and scored another one which seemed to take them home. But in the 77th
minute a shot towards the goal got deflected by Enzo Fernandez and it was a
goal and hope for Australia which resulted in many attacks from Australia but
they failed to equalize and Argentina were in the Quarterfinals again.
The next day of the Knockouts had much more in stock as
France and Poland were the first to face off at the Al Thumama Stadium on
Sunday.
The French were eyeing on becoming only the third team to be able to
defend their title in World Cup history. The first half witnessed brilliant
attack by both the teams but in the 44th minute, a flash of
brilliance by Olivier Giroud and the French were in the lead.
It was the 74th
minute when Polish players did the big mistake of giving Kylian Mbappe room and
paid the price of going down 2-0. In the 91st minute it was again
him scoring a magical goal and the stadium went crazy. Finally in the 99th
minute Robert Lewandowski was awarded a penalty which resulted in just a
consolation price for Poland and now The French were waiting to see who their
opponents would be as England and Senegal were facing off at the Al Bayt
Stadium the same evening.
Senegal were eyeing their first Quarter Finals but
England were ready to deny.
Till the 35th minute Senegal were high
on attacks at the English penalty area but in the 39th minute Jordan
Henderson put England ahead by scoring a very smooth goal and just before the
end of the first half, in the 48th minute the genius Harry Kane
scored his much awaited 1st goal of this World Cup to get a 2 goal
cushion for England.
And in the 57th minute Bukayo Saka scored the 3rd
goal for England and left their opponents far away. There was not anything more
in stock as England flew pass the final minutes of the game and Senegal were
out of the competition.
On Monday at the AL Janoub stadium Japan faced Croatia in
hope for making it to the final 8.
The match was full of adrenalin as both the
defences were in pressure and in the 43rd minute Daizen Maeda found
a goal through an attack set up from the corner.
Japan were in the lead but not
for long as Ivan Perisic scored an equaliser with a stunning header in the 55th
minute.
The match continued but there were no signs of any goal and finally it
was the penalty shootout time to give the two teams an equal chance of moving
up but Dominik Livakovic, the Croatian goalkeeper did not allowed Japan to
score even one goal in the shootout and Croatia scored 2 which were enough to
knock the Blue Samurais out of the tournament. Croatia went through and their
eyes were on Brazil and South Korea squaring it off at the stadium 974.
Neymar
was back on the field after injury which was a real boost for Brazil.
The match
started and just in the 7th minute Vinicious Jr. Put Brazil in a
1goal lead in what seemed to be so simple for him.
The Koreans were not even
out of the shock of the first one when in the 10th minute Brazil
were awarded a Penalty and Neymar in the 13th minute scored it as
expected. The game resumed and again in the 28th minute Richarlison
put on an amazing display of juggling the ball and was able to pass it on for
getting it back to score a fine goal. It was not long when Lucas Paqueta scored
1 more goal for Brazil and just in the 36th minute Brazil were 4-0
up. There was not much to do for the Koreans than to find some consolation goal
and in the 76th minute Paik Seung-ho scored a powerful goal and they
were not going down without a goal. The final whistle and Brazil were through
to take on Croatia on Friday for the first Quarter Final of this tournament.
After 6 incredible knockout matches finally it was
Tuesday and the world was unaware of the final twist in the tale. Spain were
ready to take on Morocco at the Education city stadium and the Spanish were
certainly the favourites but the roaring Moroccan fans filled their team with a
desperation to do something for them and their country as the last African side
standing in the tournament.
The Spanish were also worried about the fact that
they were not able to go past the round of 16 since they won the world cup 12
years ago. The matches started with the Spanish team setting up attack after
attack but were not able to find a way to penetrate the Moroccan defense. On
the other hand Morocco with only 23% ball possession were also setting up a few
attacks but failed. After the 90 minutes ended Spain tried their best in the
last 30 minutes of extra time but with a few lucky escapes Morocco survived for
the penalty shootouts. Morocco scored the first one but Spain didn’t as Pablo
Sarabia hit the right post. Morocco kept scoring and saving the Spanish shots
and finally Achraf Hakimi scored and Moroccan team and fans were witnessing the
dream come true as they reached the quarter-finals for the first time ever and
on the other hand the Spaniards were not able to believe what just happened.
As
this excitement was still there another game was about to take off at the
Lusail Iconic Stadium, the final match of the round of 16 where the Moroccans
were about to know who their opponents would be in the Quarter-final. Portugal
were ready to take on Switzerland and from the first whistle it was an aggressive
Portugal.
It was just the 16th minute when Goncalo Ramos thundered
the ball in the Swiss goal with authority to take the lead. After that in the
33rd minute the grand daddy of them all, Pepe scored and stated that
it is not going to be another match of upset.
Switzerland were never in the
match except that one goal in the 58th minute by Manuel Akanji and
with a hattrick by Gocalo Ramos Portugal won the match by 6-1 with dominance and
authority to grab the final spot at the Quarter Finals against Morocco.
Now finally we have the elite 8 of the tournament who
will battle for the ultimate prize and that starts on Friday. Stay tuned for
the Quarter Finals match day preview and much more. Thanks for reading.
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